Muslim Raped for Reading Bible

Regardless of your religious beliefs (or lack thereof), you might have had an interest in learning about different religions at one time or another. With their enormous historical influence on world culture and modern influence on world conflict, wanting to learn about other religions is understandable. Unless of course you happen to be a Muslim, and then it would seem that all bets are off. In fact, showing an interest in other religions just might get you raped.

I received this strange story out of Australia from regular commenter on this blog, MB. Abdul Reda Al-Shawany received a 5-year sentence from a Sydney court after raping a Muslim woman had been reading the Christian bible and who had been in contact with Christians.

Al-Shawany, a devotee of Islam, frequently described as a "religion of peace," lured his victim with the promise of news about her family in Iraq, hit her on the head, and raped her twice. According to the judge in the case, Al-Shawany believed that the rape was justified because his victim had read Christian literature and associated with Christians.

Afterwards Al-Shawany told her: "Let your Christ benefit you now".

Of course, the victim's troubles are just beginning. Now she must fear for her life, as she may be killed by the perpetrator's family or simply as an "honor killing."

"In Iraq, if some woman has got a problem like this, her husband can kill her, or her brother or her uncle can kill her, without question," the victim wrote.

"They can kill me here too in Australia. Before I'm not afraid of anyone. Even when Saddam Hussein put me in jail, I was still strong.

"Now I'm afraid all the time."

Her husband has been unwilling to speak to her for months because his religion tells him that she "brought shame on the family" by being raped. Even worse, she seems to have internalized so much of this dysfunctional religion that she views herself as "a piece of dirt."

Tags: Australia, religion, Islam, Muslim, Christian, Christianity, rape, sexual assault, law, legal, crime, honor killing